Users of anhydrous ammonia, such as farmers, have storage tanks which may sit for example in a field, a yard or another unsecured area.
Anhydrous ammonia is used to make methyl amphetamine, an illegal drug. Therefore, people involved in the development or market for methyl amphetamine may steal anhydrous ammonia from unsecured tanks.
Existing tanks of anhydrous ammonia generally have a connection which includes an excess flow valve within the tank, a flow chamber which directs the flow of anhydrous ammonia to an outlet connection, and a valve mechanism for opening or closing the flow of anhydrous ammonia through the flow chamber.
Presently, one who wants to steal or obtain anhydrous ammonia from the storage tank simply makes a connection to the outlet and opens the valve.
A valve for a tank containing anhydrous ammonia has a valve mechanism joined to a flow chamber from the tank. The valve mechanism has a bonnet with a hole through a sidewall of the bonnet. A stem valve portion and a stem handle portion are mounted in the bonnet. The stem valve portion is connected to the valve. The stem handle portion is connected to a handle. The handle may be raised or lowered with respect to the bonnet to selectively engage or disengage the stem handle portion from the stem valve portion. A hasp pin may be passed through the hole in the bonnet and locked in such position for preventing the handle from being lowered.